Billie Eilish ‘Lost All of’ Her Friends When She Became Famous

Billie Eiliish — Image Credit: Getty Images

Billie Eilish arrives at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards held at Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live on March 14, 2019 in Los Angeles, California, United States.
iHeartRadio Music Awards, Arrivals, Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles, California, USA - 14 Mar 2019 — Image Credit: Getty Images

Billie Eilish might have millions of fans, but her inner circle tightened once she became famous. While appearing on the BBC’s “Miss Me?” podcast on Monday, June 10, the 22-year-old singer-songwriter revealed that she lost all of her friendships after her music career skyrocketed her to stardom.

“Well, I lost all of my friends when I got famous,” the “What Was I Made for?” vocalist said. “I suddenly was famous and I couldn’t relate to anybody. It was tough. It was really hard.”

While pointing out that she is “very freaked out by loss, and I have a lot of abandonment problems,” Billie recalled a former employee of hers quitting and not speaking to her afterward.

“And then it was my 20th birthday, and I remember looking around the room and it was only people that I employ. And all 15 years or more older than me,” she explained. “It was the worst thing that happened to me. And that made me realize like, ‘Oh wait, this is a job.’ If they left me, they would never see me again.'”

Despite the rough patch she went through, the Oscar winner revealed that she caught up with “a bunch of old friends” last year. Now, she has a larger friend group, Billie added.

“Exactly a year ago, I reconnected with a bunch of old friends and now, I have so many friends,” the “Bad Guy” hitmaker noted. “I have a crew now. I could literally cry about it. It’s been the greatest thing that’s happened to me. … I was like, ‘Guys, I have friends and I just love you guys so much, and it’s been so long since I’ve had friends.’ I cried, and it’s literally because I actually have friendship now again.”

Billie was only 14 years old when she became recognizable. The “Ocean Eyes” artist has collaborated with her brother, record producer Finneas O’Connell, over the past several years. After releasing “Bad Guy” in 2019, Billie quickly climbed the ladder of fame. Eventually, she was tapped to write a song for the hit 2023 movie Barbie, which she later won an Academy Award for. Earlier this year, Billie released her album, Hit Me Hard and Soft.